Mikhail Gorbachev

Alive

Born: 3/2/1931 in Privolnoye, Russia, USSRAge: 88

Full name: Mikhail Sergeyevich GorbachevNickname: GorbyNoted For: last General Secretary of the U.S.S.R. (1985-91); introduced reforms, such making the Soviet government a separate entity from the Communist Party, and allowing Eastern European nations to exercise self-government, that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.Quotation: "I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics."